Numerous apparatus exist for the controlled feeding of solid or tubular wire used in various metal-utilizing processes. Particularly stringent control of such wire feeding is advantageous with iron-sheathed composite calcium materials such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,035,892 and 4,134,196. Such clad wire if fed into a vessel such as a casting ladle or the tundish of a continuous caster during the steel-making process to greatly enhance the qualities of the steel produced. In such service, it is highly important to feed the wire at a selected rate and to prevent the wire from being bent or deformed by the feed rolls.